Lorik Cana
| cityofbirth = Pristina | countryofbirth = Albania | height = | position = Defender | currentclub = Nantes | clubnumber = 21 | youthyears = 1997-2000 2000 | youthclubs = Dardania Lausanne Paris Saint-Germain | years = 2000-2003 2002-2005 2005-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2015 2015– | clubs = Paris Saint-Germain B Paris Saint-Germain Marseille Sunderland Galatasaray Lazio Nantes | caps(goals) = 39 (2) 69 (2) 122 (6) 31 (0) 24 (1) 82 (4) 21 (0) | nationalyears = 2003-2016 | nationalteam = Albania | nationalcaps(goals) = 93 (1) | manageryears = | managerclubs = }} Lorik Cana (born 27 July 1983) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Nantes. He has been a member of Albanian national team for 13 years, making his debut in 2003, playing over 90 matches, and respresentin them as captain in UEFA Euro 2016. Club career Cana made his debut as a professional player for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2003-04 season, where he played three league matches. In the next season, Cana become a regular starter, playing 32 league matches, also scoring his first goal with the club. The team finished second in Ligue 1 and also won the Coupe de France for the sixth time. Cana retained his spot for the 2004-05 season, where he also made his European debut. At the beggining of the 2005-06 season, Cana lost his place in the side due to a managerial change, which led him to join Olympique de Marseille. In his first season with the club, he won his place in the lineup and scored the winning goal in the first match between his new club and his former club, PSG. In the next season, with the departure of Habib Beye, Cana become the new team captain, showing his lidership skills. Cana ended his Marseille career with 157 matches in all competitions. In July 2009, Cana joined Sunderland on a four-year contract, becoming the first Albanian player to play in the Premier League. He was soon handed the team's captaincy by manager Steve Bruce. After one season in England, Cana joined Galatasaray for €4.5 million transfer fee. Cana himself signed a two-year contract and during his tenure with the club he played 31 matches in all competitions. In July 2011, Cana again changed side by joining Serie A team Lazio, where he would spend four seasons, playing 111 matches, before returning in Ligue 1 with Nantes. International career Cana made his official debut with Albania on 11 June 2003, aged 19, in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match against Switzerland. He scored his first and only goal with national team on 17 August 2005 during the friendly match against Azerbaijan, won by Albania 2-1. In 2011, he become the new captain of the team, replacing the retired Altin Lala. He played in every match during the Albania's successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, helping Albania to qualify to UEFA Euro 2016, its first ever appearance at a major men's football tournament. In Euro 2016, he was sent-off after more than a half hour in the opening match against Switzerland. He returned to the last game against Romania, won by Albania 1-0. Following the end of Albania's Euro 2016 campaign, Cana officialy announced his retirement from international football. Personal life Lorik's father, Agim, was also a professional footballer who played for Prishtina. Due to his father career, Cana and the rest of the family initially stayed in Kosovo, but because of the war, Lorik and his family were forced to flee to Lausanne, Switzerland, where they stayed for nine years. He married Monica Ercoli, an Italian, on 8 June 2014 and the ceremony took place on 27 June 2014. International statistics :As of match played 23 June 2016. Honours Club ;Paris Saint-Germain *Coupe de France: 2003–04 ;Lazio *Coppa Italia: 2012–13 Individual *Albanian Footballer of the Year (3): 2004, 2005, 2006 *Albanian Fan's Footballer of the Year (1): 2009 External links * Category:Players Category:1983 births Category:Defenders Category:Albanian players Category:Living people Category:UEFA Euro 2016 players Category:S.S. Lazio players Category:Sunderland A.F.C. players Category:Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Category:Olympique de Marseille players Category:FC Nantes players Category:Albania international players Category:Ligue 1 players Category:Serie A players Category:Premier League players